


see you in the morning

by imperialhare



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alien Biology, Hand Jobs, Other, Telepathic Sex, spoilers for pzn19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:14:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24131149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imperialhare/pseuds/imperialhare
Summary: What does it feel like? When I touch you.Fuck, that came off too flirty, probably? Broun feels their face flush, and is grateful that the room is dimly lit.-Broun tests their new connection with Valence.
Relationships: Kal'mera Broun/Valence
Comments: 17
Kudos: 85





	see you in the morning

**Author's Note:**

> You ever have a good podcast episode give you enough energy to write a whole fic in like one day? Shoutouts to Muna for writing encouragement!
> 
> I'm imagining this takes place between the bathhouse scene and the KO Rooke scene in PARTIZAN episode 19. 
> 
> Broun's junk in this one is based on shark claspers, and by that I mean I read the Wikipedia page and made up the rest,

It’s been a long time since Broun’s felt this way about anyone, and they resent the feeling twisting their stomach, thinking about what happened the day before. Besides, who was to say if their feelings were like, actually real, and not some kind of side effect from the psychic bond? Valence had said they didn’t have access to anything that Broun didn’t want to give them, but all Broun had was their word, and…

Broun pulls their pillow down over their face and groans into it. Why can’t they stop thinking about Valence? They’re just — co-workers, and it’s not like Broun had this problem before, they had been perfectly content that Valence kept their secrets and Broun kept theirs. If they called to Valence right now, they would come, probably. Valence isn’t the type to refuse, and besides, Broun can tell when someone wants to know more about them — wants to pry them open a little more. They could tell Valence wanted deeply to be confided in. They were constantly saying so, even.

For an unprecedented second time in three days, Broun thinks they wouldn’t mind.

_Valence?_

Broun feels excruciatingly stupid in the moments of silence that follow. Then,

_Hey, Broun._

Broun once again feels a little giddy that it worked, and is immediately furious for it. _Sorry, I… I was just curious. Again. Sorry to bother you._

_No, it’s not a bother. What’s on your mind?_

_Very funny._

_Oh — sorry, I didn’t mean for that to be a joke—_

_No, it’s fine, I know, I was just giving you a hard time._ Broun wonders if Valence can feel how hot their face is. _Hey, uh… Do you want to come over here? I was thinking about the repairs we did and, uh, just wanted to take another look, see if there’s, y’know… other improvements I can make. Before we get another mission where it could’ve come in handy._

_Sure, but… right now?_

Broun glances over at their clock. It’s late — they tend to keep late nights, and time gets away from them. _Shit, it’s really late. Sorry, I probably woke you up. Do you sleep? No, I don’t care. Sorry._

_No, it’s fine. I’ll come over._

_You don’t have to._

Valence doesn’t respond, and Broun feels anxiety knot in their stomach. It’s only a moment before Broun hears a knock at their door.

_Come in,_ they think.

The door handle clicks and Valence steps in. Broun has a ridiculous moment of disappointment to see that they’re wearing the same heavy robes as always when Broun has on a loose tank top and cloth shorts. Why _would_ Valence need to change to go to sleep? They’re a cloud of gas piloting a mechanical body.

“You’re like a mech piloting a mech,” Broun says.

Valence pauses as they shut the door behind themself. “Uh, I guess so. Yeah.”

It’s kind of a dumb thing to say, but Broun feels pleased nonetheless. Broun sits up and pats the side of the bed next to them. “Sit.”

Valence sits and folds their hands in their lap. “What did you want to look at? I can... “ They unclasp the collar of their robe and slip it off their shoulders. Broun doesn’t know _why_ this is exciting to them — they’ve seen plenty of undressed mechanical bodies in their life as a mechanic, including Valence’s just a few days ago, but nonetheless there’s a thrillingly casual intimacy in the gesture. Valence sheds two layers of clothing to reveal an unremarkable human torso, but then the synthetic skin shimmers and becomes translucent to show the electronic detail underneath.

Broun swallows and tries to keep up the pretense that this is a mechanic’s checkup, even though Broun’s in their pajamas and sitting in bed. They put a hand on Valence’s shoulder and examine the area where they were shot. It seems to have been patched up well, and the synthetic skin only shows the hint of a scar, certainly better off than if it had been organic. After that, they can’t think of what to do next — lord, they’re practically sitting in Valence’s lap like this. Broun leans back too suddenly and Valence turns their head too suddenly and they bump their face against Valence’s mask slightly too hard.

“Sorry,” Valence says sheepishly, as Broun’s hand goes to rub their cheek. “Did you find anything?”

“It all looks good. M… maybe you should take the mask off. Before you put my eye out with it, I mean.”

“Oh, okay.” Valence moves to take it off, but Broun impulsively grabs their wrist before they can.

“Let me do it.”

“Oh… s-sure. Do you know how?”

“I watched you do it last time.” Broun makes Valence tilt their head forward so that they can reach around to the back of their neck, feels hyperaware of Valence’s ears and snout bumping up against their chest. Broun wonders how much sensation Valence can feel, really — would their breath make their face warm, trapped in the space between their mouth and Broun’s chest? Do they even breathe? 

_I’m not interested in how Valence’ body works,_ Broun thinks stubbornly.

_Really?_

Broun gasps and nearly wrenches the mask off of Valence’s head, they’re so startled by Valence’s voice in their head. “Fuck! You heard that?”

_Sorry, I thought you might not have meant to but I couldn’t resist…_

Broun looks at the wolf mask in their hands and imagines that it might have given them a sheepish grin if it was still attached to Valence’s body. Instead it remains in a neutral expression, and Broun shakes their head and sets it next to them on the bed. _Whatever. I mean, I’m not interested beyond what’s necessary to make sure it all works._

_Okay, but if you have any questions, I can try to answer them._

Broun looks up at Valence again. Their featureless faceplate is transparent and lets Broun see the purple gas that floats inside, puppeting their body. Well, that’s not totally right. That purple gas just is Valence.

_What does it feel like? When I touch you._ Fuck, that came off too flirty, probably? Broun feels their face flush, and is grateful that the room is dimly lit.

_It’s nice._

Broun feels their heart skip a beat. Valence jerks their head up, as if they were startled by their own confession.

_Ha… even you can broadcast unintentional thoughts, huh?_ Broun is trying, but it’s hard to keep the tone light when it’s all in their head. And Valence is from a whole species of people who are just… like this.

_Well… I don’t mind if you know._

_Oh._ Broun trails their fingers over the back of Valence's neck again, up to the back of their head. It’s just smooth metal, but they can see that the gas inside shifts, pressing closer to where Broun's hand rests against their mechanical skull. Can a ball of gas be cute?

_Is this okay?_

_Yeah._

Broun lets out a shaky exhale, and moves their hands to cup Valence’s face — or, what Broun understands as their face, it may as well be their cockpit for all Broun knows. Here’s where they’d try to kiss them, if Valence had a mouth. Instead they pause indecisively too long, feeling increasingly foolish as the ball of gas bobs up and down inside Valence’s head.

_Hey, Valence…_

_Yeah?_

_How much did you brush up on like… the culture, before you came here…_

_I know what kissing is, if that’s what you’re going to ask._

_Oh. Good! It was. Well, that saves me some embarrassment, at least,_ Broun replies, and presses their lips to the front of Valence’s faceplate. It’s as smooth and cold as they expected, but they feel Valence’s hands circle their waist and they close their eyes anyway. Suddenly, the sensation of the glass is replaced by the sensation of warm lips kissing their own. They flutter their eyes open and the sensation disappears again, like the kiss of a ghost.

_Was that okay?_ Valence asks.

_What was it?_

_I was trying to simulate a kiss using telepathy._

Broun laughs, jittery from how excited they are. _This is so weird. Is it weird for you too?_

_Yeah. I told you, you’re… the only person outside the Nobel who I’ve been able to do this with._

What the fuck, Broun thinks, tries to calm the swelling of their heart. _You… know what that sounds like, right?_

_That… you’re special?_

_I mean, that’s not really—_

_That you’re special to me._

Broun is absolutely furious that Valence is somehow being smooth without trying to be. It’s the lack of self-consciousness, it must be. _Shut up._

_Did I say something wrong?_

_No, it’s just — ugh! Never mind, just… do that kissing thing again._

Broun lets their eyes close again, and feels Valence lean forward to gently press their face against Broun’s. Once again, the sensation of something warm and soft brushes over their lips, making them tingle. Broun reaches for Valence’s hand — asks for it, wordlessly, in their mind, to tell Valence to touch their neck, and then they feel Valence’s fingers brushing delicately over their gills, and oh, that feels nice. Broun makes a small, audible noise.

_Kiss me more._

A pause. _You have to tell me how it’s supposed to feel,_ Valence replies.

_Uh — well, it’s a little hard to describe..._

_Just transmit what the sensation should be like, with your mind._

Broun doesn’t really know how to do that without summoning the memory of the last good kiss they had, in the back of a bar with a stranger after an otherwise nondescript night of drinking. The mood was high, and the music was good, and Broun and the girl — they never did get a name — had dragged each other to an unoccupied corner and shared an electrifying round of kisses before being shooed back into the main room by one of the staff. Broun tries to center on that feeling and send it to Valence, the way she was firm but not too firm, how there’d been just enough teeth and tongue, and…

Valence takes that feeling and sends it back to Broun, and it feels electrifyingly real as much as it feels imagined — as if some ghostly mouth is on their own, kissing them with enthusiasm, running tongue and teeth over Broun’s lips. Valence’s real hand is at the back of Broun’s head, tangled up in their hair, and their other hand is at Broun’s waist, and it feels really, really good. Broun moans and flutters their eyes open again, and they laugh when they realize they’ve been fogging up Valence’s faceplate with their breath.

_Does that bother you?_

_What?_

_That I’m breathing on your faceplate._

_Oh… no. I didn’t even notice. I was so focused on you._

_Okay, you have to stop that._

_What?_

_Being smooth._

_Am I being smooth?_

_See, this is exactly the problem._ Broun laughs, caught up in the fun of flirting. This is going well — it’s weird, for sure, but it’s going well, and whatever qualms they had about a fling with their weird religious telepathic sentient-ball-of-gas alien-from-beyond-the-Principality co-worker have fallen to the wayside. Because that’s what this is, right? A fling.

_I can feel what you feel, a little bit,_ Valence says.

_Really?_

_I can… tell that… it feels good to be kissed._

There’s something very hot about that, the way the telepathic link blurs individual sensation for them. If Valence can’t enjoy the shivery feeling of Broun’s fingers trailing down their scalp themself, then what they can feel is their own hand on Broun’s neck, what Broun feels when they’re being kissed… Broun wonders how much further they can push it, what else they can have Valence feel. Broun’s sure that the Nobel have their own way of drawing pleasure from one another — maybe the feeling of their gaseous forms blending together is some kind of ecstatic pleasure that Broun could never experience, but now Broun’s giving Valence a new experience, the experience of having an organic body that works the way Broun’s organic body works, and that’s exciting to them.

_Do you want to try touching me?_

_Like — more? I mean… Yeah._

Valence sounds just as anxious and eager as Broun imagines they do. Broun guides them, sends them impressions of what they want — Valence’s hands, mechanical as they are, aren’t completely cold, Broun can feel some warmth to them as they slide underneath their tank top and pull it up, fingers ghosting over a second set of gills over their ribcage. Broun sighs with pleasure at the sensation, puts their arms around Valence’s shoulders and draws them close. 

_Can you feel that?_

_Y-yeah. It’s really good._

Broun grins. In lieu of the ability to initiate a kiss, they settle for nuzzling their face against Valence’s faceplate as Valence's hands wander down their body, coming to a hesitant stop at the waistband of Broun’s shorts. 

_Are you sure?_ Valence asks.

_Do I not feel sure?_

Valence lets out a trembling little laugh in Broun’s mind. _Maybe I’m the one who’s nervous._

_Let me feel it, then. I’m giving you a lot right now, it’s only fair._

_Okay._

‘Feeling’ doesn’t seem like the right way to describe it, but Broun can — feel their mind widen, so that Valence is giving more of their emotions back to Broun. Valence’s mind is swimming with nervous anticipation, and Broun can feel their own sensations echoed back to them, heightening the feeling of Valence’s hands on their waist as it reverberates back and forth across their psychic link. Almost experimentally, Valence slides their palm up Broun’s side again, and they both seem to tremble at how that simple, pleasant feeling is intensified between the two of them.

_Wow. It’s almost too much,_ Broun says.

_Should we…_

_I want to try… Is that okay?_

_Yeah._ Valence pulls loose the bow Broun has tied with the drawstring of their shorts and slides them down and off, Broun lifting their hips slightly to let Valence pull them down. Broun lets their thighs part naturally. They can feel the stretch that their semi-erect claspers make against the front of their boxers, anticipating Valence’s touch. Valence shifts their own hips, partially to settle both themself and Broun more comfortably, and partially because they must be able to feel it too, the arousal between Broun’s legs.

Valence hesitates a moment — and Broun feels them savoring it, bites their lip to know that Valence is savoring it — before pulling Broun’s boxers down to mid-thigh.

_Here,_ Broun says, and projects to Valence how they might touch themself — what feels good, where to apply pressure… The knowledge of a lifetime of Broun exploring their own body goes into Valence’s mind.

_Oh,_ Valence says. They seem — overstimulated, almost. Broun draws away from them, not physically but mentally, worried that they might overload Valence with the memory of a really good round of masturbation, or something.

_Must be a lot for a ball of gas to take in,_ Broun remarks, and they can’t keep the nervous giddiness out of their psychic voice. 

_Kind of,_ Valence replies, but there’s a little laugh in there. _Broun, this is — amazing, I…_

Broun cuts them off. _Come on._ If Valence is too sincere with them in this moment Broun might actually explode, so they grab Valence’s wrist and pull Valence’s hand towards their groin. Valence nods — psychically nods, that’s weird — and takes both of Broun’s claspers in one hand, wrapping them in their fingers and running their thumb in circles over the tips. Broun bucks their hips — fuck, that’s good, and Valence’s mechanical fingers feel nice and tactile and just textured enough. They imagine that if Valence had a face to look up into, they might be slack-jawed and gaze unfocused at this wonderful new sensation, but the motion of their hand doesn’t stop. They pull Broun’s claspers through the spaces between their fingers, sticky with the fluid arousal that leaks from them, squeezing a little more firmly at the tips — Broun moans, and Valence gasps with them, and Broun feels Valence feeling them. 

Valence is right, it’s amazing. It’s like double the sensation per sensation, and Broun already knows the next time they rub one out without psychic stimulation is going to be a disappointment. 

_Broun,_ Valence says shakily, and Broun almost laughs when they realize that Valence wants to come. 

_Okay._

Broun throws one arm around Valence so that they can tuck their face into Valence’s shoulder, breathing heavily, then takes one clasper in one hand and has Valence stroke the other, and they fuck their hips up into both their palms until both they and Valence are moaning — the orgasm hits them hard, and Broun cries out and jolts their hips so hard they nearly knock Valence off themself. Valence’s hand goes limp and Broun picks up the slack, stroking both their claspers themself to finish off an intense, prolonged climax. They hear Valence moaning through it, practically collapsed on top of Broun now, and that’s almost better than the warm, sensitive, post-orgasm feeling now settling between Broun’s legs.

Silence settles on them as Broun slowly recovers their breath. Valence hasn’t moved, still straddling Broun’s legs with their head resting on Broun’s shoulder, and Broun thinks they might be more wrecked than Broun themself right now. _You okay?_

_Y-yeah. Wow._

_That felt really good._

_Yeah… Yeah, it did._

_How was that? First time with an Apostolisian?_

_Fuck, Broun, I didn’t even know this was possible, with — anyone._ Valence laughs, still shaky, but they finally manage to roll off of Broun and settle next to them on the bed. They show Broun their hand, still sticky with Broun’s cum, and that manages to make Broun blush.

_We should clean up,_ Broun says. _You uh… want your face back?_

_Huh? Oh… yeah, I guess so._

_Okay, hold on, let’s… Let’s clean up first._ Broun hikes their boxers back up and rolls out of bed. They’re glad no one else lives here who could potentially walk in on them, because Broun does feel ridiculous ducking out to the bathroom in their underwear and taking turns washing their hands with a synthetic person who no one but Broun could possibly recognize as Valence, what with their mask and clothes off. Now that the excitement has worn off, Broun can feel that the psychic channel between them has narrowed to just something conversational, rather than both of them broadcasting emotion and sensation to each other. 

Once they’ve washed up a little, Broun sits Valence on the side of their bed again and wipes off their transparent faceplate before they reattach the mask to Valence’s head. It takes a moment for everything to connect, but once it does, Valence blinks and wiggles their ears and looks up at Broun and gives them a practically goofy lupine grin.

“Stop being cute,” Broun says, grabbing their chin and shaking them a little. Valence laughs and only grins wider. It’s ridiculous how endearing it is, but Broun has to keep a clear head now. “Okay, I just want to be clear so no one gets hurt feelings — this doesn’t change anything between us. Like, our relationship.”

“Oh, I mean… Yeah, okay.”

“And I still expect us to be professional towards each other when we’re working.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay, good.” Broun almost wants to follow up with ‘don’t tell Thisbe’, but it seems ridiculous to suggest that Thisbe would understand the significance, or care. “Then… Thanks. See you in the morning.”

Valence nods slowly, recognizing the dismissal. They gather up their clothes from Broun’s floor and walk towards the door. “See you in the morning.”

Once they’re gone, Broun lets themself fall backwards onto the bed and pulls their pillow over their face again. Yeah, it was an objectively stupid thing to do — what happened to keeping it professional? — but fuck if it didn’t feel amazing. They’re mad at themself because they keep letting Valence make their life more complicated, but it’s hard to be too mad, really. 

Broun sighs and clicks off the lamp next to their bed. Better get some sleep — they’ve got a long day ahead of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter @imperialhare!


End file.
